Long / Longer distance maritime travel to and from New York City

[Airborneguy]

I've seen long cruises throughout the Caribbean from NYC.

[elnrgby]

Originally Posted by Airborneguy

I've seen long cruises throughout the Caribbean from NYC.

I'm sure those exist too, but again, with the exception of South Pacific, I am not knowledgeable about, or particularly interested in, cruises. In the South Pacific, you either take expensive flights on flimsy little planes that look like flying bicycles and land on very non-reassuring tiny airstrips, or you take a cruise ship which is less expensive if you want to see many islands in the same trip. To me, the latter is more appealing, just as transportation, I don't care for cruise entertainment. The only amenities that are of any use to me on a cruise ship are the library and the swimming pool.

[BugsyPal]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

I know there are cruises from NYC area to various destinations, though I've never been on one before, but are there other options aside from these packaged cruises? Also, as I understand it, when you get on these cruises you're signing up for a set departure and return. I'm looking more for trips that are flexible in terms of being able to stay at the destination (on land!) for a long-ish period of time before coming back on another trip. I'm also not particularly interested in the cruise aspect of the trip so much--don't mind it, but really thinking of this more as just a mode of transport that's pleasant enough.

Any ideas and pointers greatly appreciated!

Well there was the Fall River Line, but that's long gone now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_River_Line